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Stay tuned for the unveiling of the 2025 Hall of Fame trail! Thank you to everyone who supported this year’s nominees by voting—it would too hard for us to choose the 2025 Hall of Fame trail without you.
2024 Inductee | Hall of Fame Trails
In 2007, RTC began recognizing exemplary rail-trails around the country through its Hall of Fame. Hall of Fame trails have been selected based on merits such as scenic value, high use, trail and trailside amenities, historical significance, accessibility, excellence in management and maintenance of facility, community connections and geographic distribution. In 2023, eligibility for the Hall of Fame expanded to include greenways, towpaths, rails-with-trails and all other types of multiuse trails, with an emphasis on those that deliver the accessibility and trail use experience to be expected by a rail-trail and priority given to trails that contribute to the connectivity of regional trail and active transportation systems.
Trails inducted into the Hall of Fame receive a variety of honors, including special signage to place along their trails, a Trail of the Month feature and a highlight in Rails to Trails magazine. View a list of Hall of Fame trails.
2024 Hall of Fame inductee:
Ke Ala Hele Makālae
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Hawaii’s Ke Ala Hele Makālae is the 2024 Hall of Fame trail! After being nominated for the outstanding experience and social, economic and quality-of-life benefits it provides, the trail was chosen to receive this honor through a national public vote.
State: Hawai‘i
Location: Kaua‘i County
Length: 8 miles
Fun Fact: Ke Ala Hele Makālae is Hawaiian for “The Path that Goes by the Coast.” It perfectly describes the paved pathway that hugs the island’s Coconut Coast along the eastern shoreline of Kaua‘i.
Press
- This Kauai Trail Was Just Named To The Hall Of Fame (Forbes)
- This Hawaiian Trail Was Just Named One of the Best in the U.S. — and It Has Stunning Views (Travel and Leisure)
- Ke Ala Hele Makālae trail on Kauaʻi earns national recognition (Hawaiʻi Public Radio)
- We Loved Kauai Path Even Before Its National Acclaim (Hawaii Travel News)
Hall of Fame Trails
Washington and Old Dominion Railroad Regional Park (W&OD) (Virginia)
Sacramento River Rail Trail and Sacramento River Trail (California)
Hall Of Fame Stories
View More Blogs
Iowa’s Wabash Trace Nature Trail: August 2025 Trail of the Month
Meet the 2025 Hall of Fame Trail Nominees
